Cartoon Mango Studios

Virtual reality in comparison with augmented reality

Cartoon Mango Studios

Virtual reality in comparison with augmented reality

Future of Virtual reality in comparison with augmented reality

Thinking of the key advancements human race has made in the current century, TECHNOLOGY seems to be the most visible and prominent facet, which has become a part and parcel of everyone’s life. Juxtaposing the mindset of consumers today with that of yesteryears, there has been a paradigm shift in the technical mindset and acceptability of consumers. Talking of technical prowess and sophistication, both Virtual and Augmented reality have been trending in some form or the other – at times, complementing each other, posing a serious threat in the commercial growth and sustainability.

Now, before diving deep into the future prospects – in terms of commercial acceptability, innovation and resemblance to the real world, it is imperative to understand the basic nitty-gritty of these two technological innovations.

Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality deals with creation of an environment of virtualization which users and consumers can interact with. The virtual world to which the user would be exposed to should be designed and created in such a manner that it should be extremely difficult to categorize the difference between the projected environment and the real world. This can be realized by wearing specially created VR glasses or helmets.

Augmented Reality: Augmented Reality, as opposed to Virtual Reality, moreover deals with the blending of virtual objects and real life. Sophisticated applications and graphics are created in such a way that consumers can distinctly draw a demarcation between the virtual and real world, and at the same time, interact between the two.

Therefore, the primary objective behind the growth of VR and AR are more or less the same, but the way the two of them proceeds to achieve the objective are different. While AR enables users to touch and feel virtual objects in synch with the real world, VR immerses the user in a completely fabricated environment, camouflaging the presence of the real world.

So, the million dollar question is – Which of the two technologies has more potential to succeed?

Practically, from an implementation point of view, Augmented Reality has been able to capture a larger chunk of customer preference and attention as compared to Virtual Reality. There has been many AR products which have already hit the market – the most trending of which is the Google Glass and other wearable technologies launched by Microsoft. VR, on the other hand, is still on the upsurge and has to go a long way before making an indelible mark in the commercial arena. Therefore, while there is little doubt on the potential behind both the technologies, AR may clinch the battle, as far as the commercial angle is concerned.

Both of them, however, has their own unique selling propositions. When the prime focus of an application in on content – VR is the obvious choice. Virtual Reality application ensures that the consumers are completely focused on content – there is no deviation, it’s one of the most immersive ways to convey a story. AR, on the other hand, focuses more on reality – contextualization of virtual content to real life scenarios. To conclude, both AR and VR attempts to create a virtual world for consumers – AR tinkers with reality while VR averts it.